In the factory of a leading shale oil producer, oil shale is separated into oil and gas. For the purpose of flue gas cleansing, steam is injected in via venturi nozzles. This serves to separate dust from the flow of gas. The speed of the inflow through venturi nozzles is often extremely high. When injecting steam, this can cause major wear, even if no solid materials are being conveyed. Additional stresses result from high pressure, high temperature and also temperature shocks.

The only thing that can help is to fit ceramic inserts. Not just any ceramic will work, though. In this application, Kalenborn is substituting KALSICA for an high alumina ceramic. To compensate for stresses due to thermal expansion, the engineers are using KALSICA inserts with an elastic tensioning system in the stainless nozzles. In consultation with the customer, we have modified the components completely and adapted them for the prevailing conditions.

Kalenborn Germany is supplying the full package: The engineering, the steel manufacture and the ceramic inserts.